Bowling game device



Jan. 31,1939.

W. F. THOMPSON ET AL BOWLING GAME DEVICE Filed Sept. 17, 1937 Inventors, mlliw F7110 m mon,

and Dnemill Gowell.

Patented Jan. 31, 1939 I ()FFIC E 2,145,840 BOWLING GAME DEVICE Willis r;

Gowen; stutnrcrtlami,

Thompson, Portland; and Ernest E'.

Maine; said Thompson Application September 17, 1937,8eria1 No. 164,306 1 claim. (or 21345 The present invention deals-with a bowling game device adapted for purposes-of entertaining the young as well, also, as old'er' players' and capable of beingused either in or out of doors.

;, The device embodies a boxhaving a cover, on the inside of which latter member is mounted a multi-pocket target. On the front end, and in-- teriorly of the box, is a deflecting board pivotally secured in such a manner that when in use it may mtbe swung outwardly from, into a position forwardly'of, the box, itssurface thenbeing inclined toward the target.- I

The game involves bowling a solid rubber ball which in its forward course impacts on the in- 91 clined surface of the deflecting board, bounces into the air and lands, if the player uses-proper skill, in one of the pockets in the target.

Each pocket is marked with a number desighating. the scoringpoints credited to the player when the ball enters that particular pocket, the highest number being assigned to the'pocket into which it is most diflicult toaland the ball;

.Tlietdther pockets car umbers decreasing in scoreivaliieia's tlie ch'ances orlikelihood of placing a ball in them increases.

An object of the invention is to provide a compact, portable affair which can house all the necessary accessories used in playing the game, the box or carrier constituting in itself an important and necessary element in the combina- I tion.

r "A further object resides in the arrangement and disposition of the parts whereby a very expeditious positioning of them in their proper places for playing the game may be effected, and dissembling and compactly storing the parts within the box when the game is finished, likewise quickly and. easily accomplished.

A still further object concerns the non-detachability of the accessories from the box, insuring against loss or misplacement of any of them 7 when dissembled from their playing positions, the

rubber balls, of course, excepted.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the description of the invention proceeds; and to illustratively disclose the characteristic features and novelty of our invention we have prepared the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters indicate and identify similar parts in all the different views thereof.

' Inthe drawing,--' I 1 shows the bowling game device folded with all parts stored in the box, and the whole inorder for transportation;

Fig; 2 is aperspective v-iew thereof with the cover opened, showing the interior;

' Fig; 3 shows its application;

Fig.-isa1planivi'ew of the target;

' 5' is'la sectional view of the box, taken on broken line 5-"-'5, 2;

Fig. 6 isasection of the cover, with the target shown in elevation;

Fig. 7 is a? perspective view of one of the posts usedinthe target construction; m

Fig. 8 is a: transverse section of the" post, taken on line ll"8; 1=ig."7-;

Fig. 9-is a detail showing the method of mounting the circular band and the flat radial portions of the'target on the post;

Figr 10- lsa section through the cover and two of the posts; showing the circular bands in section arid the radial partitionsin'full', and

Fig; 11- illustrates ther'nethod" of attaching the corners of the fence to the cover;

Referring'to the-drawing, i represents the base portion of a*-box:and"2 the"cover therefor. The coveris preferably'attached to' the base portion by hinges 3, and when located for. playing the game is swung into an inclined position and held there by flexible cables 4 which interconnect the cover with the base portion, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Disposed on the inside of the cover is a target capable of being constructed in any one of various forms, but as shown, embodying a plurality of circular, concentrically arranged bands, 5, 6, and I, the bands, which preferably are made either of metal or pulp board, are mounted in slots 811 made in the posts '8, with their ends abutting in the slot in one of the posts and secured therein by nails 81). Nails or screws 9 may also be employed to secure the posts to the cover 2.

To provide variety in form of the pockets and incidentally to increase the number of pockets in the target, we interconnect the circular bands with radial partitions H), the manner of joining these parts being shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The partitions ID are short pieces and are inserted in the radially disposed slots of adjacent posts.

As thus constructed, the target has pockets A, B, C, D and E, and in order to identify them for score keeping purposes each pocket is assigned a number which is placed on a tab l3, secured in any convenient manner to the band, and. overhanging the pocket which it represents.

The numbers vary and are of progressively higher denomination as the difliculty in landing a ball in the respective pockets increases. For

therefrom by a rod I9 which slightly yields when instance, it has been found that pocket E is the least diificult to connect with, so the number II] has been allocated to this pocket. On the other hand, the pocket A is the most difiicult for the ball to land in. Accordingly, the pocket A carries the tally or score number 50.

As hard rubber balls, bowled with any degree of I force, are apt to bounce excessively when contacting an object it has been found desirable to restrict their range of action by confining them, when re-bounding from the target, to the area circumscribed by the marginal confines of the cover 2. For this purpose we employ a fence outstanding from and disposed on three sides of the cover, the fence preferably being a net of loosely woven material I4 supported at the upper corners of the box by standards I5 which may be detached, when the cover is closed, by withdrawal of the standards from the holes I5a in the cover, as shown in Fig. 11. The ends of the net are permanently secured to the sides of the box by tacks or pins, as at I6 and I1.

When the parts are to be dissembled and the cover closed, the standards, together with the portions of the fence attached thereto, may be easily folded and laid in the bottom of the box.

The solid rubber balls I8 which preferably are used in playing the game, are stored when the device is folded together as shown in Fig. 1, in one end of the box and held against. displacement it is desired to remove the balls for service.

Within the front end of the box is a deflector board 20, secured at one end to the block 2| which is pivotally mounted to the sides of the box over pins 22. The deflector board is shown in full lines, in Fig. 5, as it is disposed when not in use,

and in dotted lines when swung outwardly on its pivots, for service in playing the game, also shown in the latter position in Fig. 2.

To conveniently carry the device when compacted, as shown in Fig, 1; we provide a handle.

23, with a latch hook 24 securing the free end of the cover to the box.

The game may be played by placing the box on 7 any smooth surface over which the balls may be bowled, after first opening the cover, arranging the fence and swinging the deflector board outwardly. Fig. 3 shows the progress of the ball I8 after leaving the hand of the player, at point X, until it lands either in one of the pockets or the space immediately surrounding the target.

The herein described gaming device provides a very fascinating pastime for amusement-seeking persons regardless of their age or sex, and may be carried on indoors or out-ofdoors where a smooth even surface can be found.

The fact that all of the accessories or parts required may be conveniently stored in the member which serves as the main element in prosecuting the game, adds materially to its merit.

And further, due to its simplified and self-contained construction, its portability, and the extremely easy and effortless task of setting-up for the playing, the device will be found to commend itself for entertainment purposes.

What we claim is: a

A bowling game device adapted to be played with balls, comprising a box embodying a base portion having upstanding sides, a cover portion hingedly secured to said base portion, holding means to maintain said cover in an inclined position when the device is in service, a pocketed target mounted on the inside of said cover, said target including a plurality of circular bands concentrically arranged and mutually spaced, a plurality of posts having longitudinal slots in which said bands are respectively mounted and secured, and radial partitions interconnecting said bands and secured in transversely disposed slots in said posts, a fabric fence extending outwardly from the marginal portions of said cover portion and surrounding said target on three sides thereof,

and means at the rearward end of said base portion for upwardly deflecting said balls as they are bowled toward said target.

WILLIS F. THOMPSON. ERNEST E. GOWELL. 

